Benihana

Typically love this place, but as you know the chef makes or breaks the experience. If you get Chef Vee ask to be moved immediately! Uhg!

So I come here on a friday night with my family. We arrive there at 6:30pm and I ask them to put our name down for 4 people. I ask the young asian guy working there how long it’ll take and he says about 1 hour. And that’s all he said. Okay, that’s fine. I left with my family and go outside for about 50 minutes, returning around 7:20pm, thinking I’m early but I’ll check in any ways to see where I am on the list.
Well holly molly, when I return I’m greeted by this old white guy who looks like colonel sanders from KFC. He says he called my name but we weren’t there so we have to wait another 45 minutes. Okay, I’m a patient person, willing to wait another 45 minutes, and wasn’t going to say anything. But then this same white guy for reason continues talking and saying stuff like we call your name out and you weren’t here, so now you have to wait 45 minutes. Is your fault for leaving the restaurant. WTF??? Keep in mind, I didn’t say anything yet. At first, I thought he was kidding, but this guy was serious. So I get angry and start arguing with him again and was like the other guy told me the wait was one hour. That’s why I left and came back EARLY and didn’t want to pester them by remaining inside the restaurant where there was a jam crowd of people inside. To keep things short, this guy kept accusing me of this shit and that for not waiting in the restaurant when they told me it was a an hour wait and nothing else.
Finally, we got seated in about another 20 minutes which was nice and food and service was decent. But this A-​hole Colonel Sanders look alike totally ruin the night for me and my family. Never once did he apologize. I hope they have a talk with this guy or something.

VERY BAD COSTUMER SERVICE! I when to have dinner with my wife and kids for my birthday on 06/​13/​2016 and i had my 30 $ gift certificate for my birthday and the MANAGER NAMED ROBERT! did not accept my 30 $ gift certificate HE SAID I HAVE TO WAIT 24 HOURS TO USE IT I MEAN WHAT’S THE POINT OF ME COMING ON A DIFFERENT DATE THAT’S NOT MY BIRTHDAY ! so i dint have have enough money in my bank card at the time so it decline. I when to benihana to eat with that gift certificate i was promised to used and knowing i could cover the rest on my part but the manager embarrassed me in front of all my family my kids and people around me saying i came to eat with no money ! So i told him i had to go to the nearest atm to take out money and pay the bill He made me leave my kids there so I could go to the nearest bank or ATM so I can take out money so I can pay the bill He did not trusted me, I had to drive to two different ATMs because the first one wasn’t working it took me 30 minutes to go and come back I had the worst day of my life worse dinner or’ birthday ! Period ! I DIDN’T ASK FOR ANYTHING SPECIAL ALL I WANTED WAS TO GET WHAT I WAS PROMISED THAT’S THE ONLY REASON I WENT THERE IF I KNEW THIS I WOULDN’T OF GONE! They didn’t even sing happy birthday or bring me my dessert I had to ask for it which I felt like a total DumbAss!
IF I COULD NOT PUT A START I WOULD BUT YOU MUST aghhh!!!

I’ve been sitting here for over 75 minutes waiting for a simple to order for Postmates. I understand the restaurant gets busy, but my initial estimate of 35 – 40 was incredibly inaccurate. The worst part is that none of the staff was apologetic, or attempted to remedy the situation. The best answer I could get for the delay is that they’re «working on it» and are just very backed up.

Very disappointed with our waitress we advise her we wants to get a couple glasses of wine we was waiting for about 15 min and finally came back. Not a good service! And the table was not very clean!

Amazing food, drinks, and service every time I come here, the chefs are amazing at what they do. I definetely recommend making reservations when you go because there could be a long wait specially at Newport location. Their chicken fried rice is to die for, along with Vegas roll one of my favorites and the salmon with the avocado tartar sauce, you can’t never go wrong with anything you order here.

This is our go to! My husband and I probably visit this location 3 – 4 times a month and have yet to come across a bad experience. The food and service is always amazing, My fav is the Scallops and of course the amazing fried rice. Yum!

We have been there sevaral times in thepast 20+ years and it’s always very good.
We were there this afternoon for lunch and both the food and chef were very good
The filet mignon was tender and flavorful as was the shrimp.
The service was good too. Always a solid choice
We will be back

I love coming to Benihana, especially when I get my annual $ 30 birthday certificate. I’ve had some up and down experiences here, but for the most part it’s been good. My favorite thing to get is the filet! And I love the soup and salad that comes with the meal.
I wanted to mention Pedro because he was the best chef I’ve had in awhile at Benihana. He was really nice, made our food really flavorful, and everything was cooked perfectly. I would highly recommend asking to be seated at his table.
I also like that they give you ice cream and a photo to take home for your birthday, it’s a really nice touch.

Celebrated my mom and daughter’s birthday there today! Made reservations and were seated promptly. We had the surf side entrée which consisted of colossal shrimp, calamari and scallops. We also ordered the filet mignon steak which was cooked to a perfect medium rare. Our chef was entertaining and funny. The food was superb and service incredible. We also used our Chef’s Table Birthday $ 30 Certificate which you can sign up easily online through their website. It was a wonderful celebration and we had a great time!

You can never go wrong with this place. My kids love their hibachi shrimp and fried rice.

This was my first time at Benihana, and I was honestly disappointed. I was super excited to see the show that everyone was talking about, but it wasn’t very impressive. The man who was our chef seemed tired and ready to retire to be very honest; we did not pay ~30 a plate to see him make a heart with the fried rice and flash a red light over it. Oh wow… so magical. He did no flips or tricks, and it just seems like he would be happier in the back.
The food he made was good, and he seemed quite experienced, but when you’re paying for a show, you should expect a decent show dang nabbit!
Furthermore, I understand that you cannot proportion out the food equally amongst all patrons, but seriously? My filet mignon was supposed to be filet mignon and mushrooms. I got a grand total of FOUR, count em, FOUR mushrooms. The people across from me had a handful of them. Serious food envy…
Also, they ask you white or fried rice but fail to let you know that you will be charged extra for fried rice. Can you please at least say would you like fried rice for an extra $ 4? I have a feeling that may change some people’s answers. It’s not that big of a deal, but honestly, the fried rice I had at a different teppanyaki place was WAY better.
In any case, the soup and salad were good I guess… but dang, my waitress was going to throw away my fried rice and plate of meat without even asking if I wanted it to go. Wth? Ugh

Vegetarians beware: the onion soup is beef based, the Miso soup has fish stock, and the spicy sauce on the tofu steak is beef based (which makes no sense at all). You can ask for their teriyaki sauce on your tofu instead. Also ask that they cook your veggies first and with no butter, and your fried rice with no eggs or butter.
Once I figured out how to order vegan, my food was really good. And I very much appreciated the chef telling me about the spicy sauce (beef based) and cooking my food separate.
Benihana’s, if you are reading this, please do not use fish stock in Miso soup and pretty please used a vegetarian based sauce for tofu.

Who goes to Benihana to get a «dud» of a chef? Apparently, I do.
Very disappointing experience!
Rey had zero, nada, no personality!
Rey: «Anyone celebrating anything tonight?»
Me: I am celebrating my birthday.
Rey (mild mumble): happy birthday.
Tables all around us were being sung to for their birthday.
Me — nothing but a mumbled happy birthday.
Tip to Benihana Management: Hire a teppanyaki chef with a little personality, please. We (humans) like to be intertained by our teppayaki chef!
And the fried rice was very bland Rey…

Came here for the lunch special and ordered the boat. It was great! They bring the salad and soup out right away so you can get started. The lunch boat came out hot and ready and was a bigggg portion. I got the steak and it was around $ 12 but worth it for the amount of variety and flavor. See my picture attached!
I can’t wait to return!

Came here on a whim with my girlfriend (this is her favorite place to eat). Food was normal. but this visit was the fastest I have even been in and out of the place. the entire thing lasted 45 mins. from walking in to walking out. We were joking with everybody at the table that the grill didn’t even warm up before he finished cooking. I think I blinked and in the middle of blinking he did a volcano, chu chu train, and made the chicken. lol. I am joking, but serious. Everyone at the table except for one woman had the trio (chicken, shrimp, and steak). Hardly anyone touched the chicken. wasn’t cooked or maybe he served it as sushi? I think before the big came, the cook was already in his underwear at home drinking a cold one.
So yup. I can’t really rate an experience that didn’t really happen. but I paid for it, so it must have happened.

I’ve been to this location a couple of times, but my most recent time 2 months ago was for teppanyaki.
I ended up getting the Splash ‘N Meadow (Hibachi steak and colossal shrimp) and the person I was with got the Surf Side (colossal shrimp, calamari, and sea scallops). It’s nice seeing them cook in front of you, since it’s more like a show, nice entertainment. The food was mediocre, nothing special. You’re just paying for the show rather than the quality of the food. The portion size wasn’t as much as you’d expect for the price, too (about $ 30/​person, depending on what you get).
Since we came to celebrate my birthday (there was another person celebrating a birthday sitting next to us), they sang the birthday song after bringing out the ice cream sundae dessert. It was nice. The sundae was ok, nothing special.
We also had our picture taken, and was given a copy of it, and you can go online within 30 days, and enter in your personalized code to get a digital copy. So that was pretty nice.
This place is definitely super pricey for the quality of the food, as well as the portion size. It’s just the show that you’re paying for.
Service was definitely really good, though, so kudos for that!
All in all, I’d only recommend coming here if you’re celebrating a birthday, since it makes your bill cheaper overall (sign up for the e-​club and you get a buy one, get one free coupon during your birthday month). You’re going for the show rather than the food, so be prepared. You’ll leave satisfied in terms of fullness, but the food isn’t so great for you to brag to your friends about. I might come back for a birthday celebration, but definitely not for a regular outing.
Tip: Make a reservation because it can get filled, even on weeknights!

As I have said about my reviews in the past… Some things have to be experienced at least once in life…
Benihana is one of them… To an Asian-​American… The thing here is. Its a Good Dinner with a Show… The only difference over the years is… The Chef went from Hiro-​San to Armando-​San… Besides this subtle difference… Armando has definitely learned the tricks of flinging Shrimp. lol
The last time I did Benihana was back in 1998… and it has not changed much… The reason we picked Benihana for dinner is… FRIED RICE!!!
I know it sounds crazy… but the fried rice is pretty good… So we came here for the Fried Rice and it came with a Filet… LOL!!!
TWO THINGS… Parking can get busy… I would recommend getting there at leas 15min before seating…
And for our Wine Geek friends… Bring your own if you are one of those. The corkage is only $ 25 and they don’t know the difference between a regular and a magnum… LOL!!!

I rated Benihana 5 stars last year but this year I was very disappointed with my dinner.
watch this video made of my glorious dinner at the Benihana.
My Mai Tai was still very satisfying but the food, not so much. I ordered the $ 55 rib eye «special» for 2 & a lobster tail add on for $ 15. Unfortunately the lady sitting next to me ordered the same thing and after cooking the lobster tails, the chef did not divide it equally, she ended up getting most of it and I had just a few pieces. I did not want to be rude so I was very upset.
If I ever order again any lobster, I will make sure this will never happen again, they should separate the lobster orders to be fair. Benihana now used margarine or a butter mixed with margarine combination, I could taste the fake butter taste
The rib eye steaks sure looked impressive, I had never seen it so thick, I had it in other steak houses, they were of normal thickness and 95% of the time very tender. My rib eye was very tough, many pieces were as tough as leather.
The sauces were exactly the same as ever to my delight, I just found out they sell the sauces in pint bottles, when I go back for the happy hour, I will buy a few to take home.
The green tea ice cream was fine but the white stuff was a fake concoction, not even a fake whip cream, it was like a whipped up marsmallow.
Benihana, please bring back the experienced Japanese chefs, almost all the chefs I saw were Latinos and they spoke Spanish freely! I understood Spanish but other guests might not appreciate it. I missed the onion train, it was cute & entertaining, this chef did not know how to make the onion move, I did not remember seeing him doing the knife show either, people come here for the fun cooking show, not just the teppanyaki!
I rated this time dining 3 stars, I hope this was an isolate case, I will stick to the hibachi steak, it was more tender than the ribeye.

Benihana is a fun place to go for celebrations or just for a fun night out.
This place is all about the teppan! Their Benihana Trio is amazing! It comes with filet mignon, chicken breast and colossal shrimp grilled with lemon and butter. It’s all together a 6 course meal with green tea served to begin with, onion soup, a yummy salad and other goodies. You also get your choice of ice cream at the end, which is really good.
Always upgrade to their fried rice! It’s super tasty and fun to see them prepare it in front of you.
The filet mignon, chicken & shrimp are cooked to perfection (in my opinion).
They get 4 stars however because I think too much salt is added to the fried rice. I have a very high tolerance to salt so when I think it’s too much it really must be too much! So I’d recommend asking them to put less.
I enjoy getting a rum & Coke here and they’re always super strong (which I like) :)